In 1969, new Beatles manager Allen Klein negotiated a new contract with Capitol Records that required one compilation album per year. I don't know how they planned to have a new compilation every year for the five-year span of the contract, but the plan for the initial one was to use songs that hadn't appeared on albums (only singles).
Allan Steckler was given the task of deciding which tracks should be included. Ten tracks were chosen, put in chronological order, from 1964-69, and issued (only in the U.S.) as Hey Jude in 1970. With the inclusion of the group's most successful song ever (the title song), the album promptly sold more than 2 million copies.
The problem with the album is that the Beatles' sound had changed so dramatically from the time of their mop top days of 1964 and their hippie days of '69. With a little more care, a compilation album could have been produced with a more contemporary sound using more recent songs, including some still unreleased.
1. Revolution
2. Lady Madonna
3. The Inner Light
4. What's the New Mary Jane?
5. Not Guilty
6. The Ballad of John and Yoko
SIDE B
1. Hey Jude
2. Old Brown Shoe
3. Don't Let Me Down
4. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
The first four tracks of Hey Jude are the ones I have the problem with: "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Should Have Known Better," "Paperback Writer" and "Rain." Removing these, I needed a new opener. "Revolution" -- which closes side one on Hey Jude -- seems like the obvious choice to me. I then moved "Lady Madonna" from track 6 to track 2.
I added three songs to the first side not on the original album: "The Inner Light," "What's the New Mary Jane?" and "Not Guilty." All seem like obvious tracks to include. "The Inner Light" didn't show up on an American or British album until 1978's Rarities and the stereo version wasn't released until 10 years after that on Past Masters, Volume 2. Both "What's the New Mary Jane?" and "Not Guilty" were White Album outtakes that weren't released until Anthology 3 in 1996.
For the final song on the first side, I moved the Hey Jude album closer "The Ballad of John and Yoko" here instead.
The first three tracks of the second side are the same as Hey Jude, but I closed the album with "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)." Originally the b-side of the then-upcoming "Let It Be" single, this track wasn't released on an album until Rarities in 1978.
There were three other tracks I considered: the single edit versions of both "Let It Be" and "Get Back," and the "wildlife" version of "Across the Universe" that had only been released previously on the World Wildlife Fund compilation No One's Gonna Change Our World. But since all three songs in different versions would appear on the Let It Be album released later the same year, it didn't seem to make as much sense as the other options.
And there you have it, what I consider to be a superior compilation album than Hey Jude. For a cover, I used the shot of the group that was on the back side of the Hey Jude album, and I titled it Beatles Again, which is rumored to have been the original album title. I found this album mock-up on the web.
I agree with you. There should have been a previous compilation of "Beatles Again" and the one that you have proposed.
ReplyDeleteWell done.
Thanks!
DeleteI never had a problem with the Hey Jude album. Maybe because I was still a newcomer to the band at the time I first heard it. I can see your point about Can't But Me Love and Should Have Known Better but Paperback Writer And Rain were the highlights for me and seem to fit well with the rest of the album.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm obviously looking at this in hindsight. There may have been something of a time crunch and wanted it released quickly.
DeleteIf I remember right the idea behind the album was to collect as many singles and B sides that had yet to appear on a US LP.
DeleteYour compilation makes much more sense. There were enough U.S. tracks that could have been used on a compilation of earlier, Pre-Pepper material. Not sure I would have put Mary Jane on it, however : it's a dreadful track. The "Wildlife " version is different enough to warrant inclusion. As a side note, I have a first pressing of the LP that has Beatles Again on both the labels and the album jacket.
ReplyDeleteWow! Cool -- that's a collector's item for sure.
DeleteThanks...re:"What's the New Mary Jane", I have a studio bootleg of the same name that has many versions...there is one that is labeled "single mix" that was to be used as a b-side and sounds very cool, perhaps the way it was supposed to be. Ya'll find one that you like and use that...I am tempted to add "Come and Get It", "Give Peace A Chance", Goodbye", "Cold Turkey" and the outfake version of "Sour Milk Sea", but you set sounds so good, I don't want to dilute it. Please keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks! You've got some interesting ideas. Go for it!
DeleteI've good that same lp. Had it since the 70's. There's a "tolerable " version on there, but it's still not one of Lennon's better compositions.
DeleteJohn and Yoko mixed "What's the New Mary Jane" and "You Know My Name" for release as a Plastic Ono Band single in '69. John hated to leave things on the shelf. The others got wind of it and took "You Know My Name" for a Beatles B side instead leaving Mary Jane to sit until Anthology.
DeleteWhen I was growing up, there were two Beatles albums in our house: Meet The Beatles and Hey Jude/The Beatles Again. Our copy of the latter had both titles but where they appeared I can't remember. I am pretty sure the spine of the album sleeve said Hey Jude and the label on the lp said The Beatles Again. I still have it although it is in very bad condition. Now I have to go see for myself....
ReplyDelete